# 1948–49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers basketball team

The 1948–49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State College (now known as Western Kentucky University) during the 1948-49 NCAA University Division Basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle and All-American guard John Oldham. This was the inaugural season for the newly established Ohio Valley Conference and Western Kentucky won the conference championships, and appeared in the 1949 National Invitation Tournament. During this period, the NIT was considered by many to be the premiere college basketball tournament, with the winner being recognized as the national champion. Oldham and Center Bob Lavoy were named to the All-Conference team as well as the OVC All-Tournament team. This was the first year that a widely distributed, national poll was published by the Associated Press, and Western Kentucky was ranked 3rd in the initial poll and finished the season ranked 5th.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 12/6/1948* | | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 62–51 | 1–0 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/9/1948* | | Emporia State | W 61–34 | 2–0 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/11/1948* | | Bowling Green State | W 60–51 | 3–0 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/13/1948 | | at Morehead State | W 66–51 | 4–0 (1-0) | Button Auditorium Morehead, KY |
| 12/15/1948 | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 56–53 | 5–0 (2-0) | Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY |
| 12/18/1948* | | vs. Washington and Lee | W 89–43 | 6–0 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 12/27/1948* | | at Canisius | W 65–55 | 7–0 | Buffalo, NY |
| 12/30/1948* | | vs. Long Island | W 83–58 | 8–0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 1/1/1949* | | at Saint Joseph's (PA) | W 86–69 | 9–0 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, PA |
| 1/8/1949* | | Berea | W 77–36 | 10–0 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/10/1949 | | Louisville | W 56–44 | 11–0 (3-0) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/13/1949 | | at Evansville | W 72–66 | 12–0 (4-0) | Evansville, IN |
| 1/18/1949* | No. 3 | at Memphis State | W 78–51 | 13–0 | Memorial Fieldhouse Memphis, TN |
| 1/21/1949* | No. 3 | at Miami | W 78–45 | 14–0 | Miami, FL |
| 1/22/1949* | No. 3 | at Miami | W 63–47 | 15–0 | Miami, FL |
| 1/29/1949 | No. 4 | Eastern Kentucky | L 40–42 | 15–1 (4-1) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/31/1949* | No. 4 | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 80–74 | 16–1 | Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, KY |
| 2/2/1949 | No. 6 | at Louisville | L 64–70 | 16–2 (4-2) | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 2/5/1949 | No. 6 | Murray State | W 61–47 | 17–2 (5-2) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/8/1949 | No. 6 | Evansville | W 71–47 | 18–2 (6-2) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/11/1949* | No. 6 | vs. Baldwin Wallace | W 67–58 | 19–2 | Cleveland Arena Cleveland, OH |
| 2/12/1949* | No. 6 | No. 14 Bowling Green State | L 58–72 | 19–3 | Bowling Green, OH |
| 2/14/1949 | No. 6 | at Murray State | W 73–54 | 20–3 (7-2) | Carr Health Building Murray, KY |
| 2/17/1949 | No. 7 | Morehead State | W 69–48 | 21–3 (8-2) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/19/1949* | No. 7 | East Tennessee | W 90–53 | 22–3 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 1949 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament ||||||
| 2/24/1949 | No. 7 | vs. Tennessee Tech OVC Tournament | W 73–42 | 23–3 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 2/26/1949 | No. 7 | vs. Eastern Kentucky OVC Tournament Semifinal | W 70–54 | 24–3 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 2/26/1949 | No. 7 | at Louisville OVC Tournament Final | W 74–68 | 25–3 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 1949 National Invitation Tournament ||||||
| 3/14/1949* | No. 5 | vs. No. 7 Bradley NIT Quarterfinal | L 86–95 | 25–4 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||